Washington has ruled out direct talks with the Iranians tomorrow in Vienna, and said that it expects difficult talks, and Pentagon officials warned of the consequences of not expediting an agreement, and Iran announced that it would present tomorrow a list of the sanctions that it would require lifting.
"We do not underestimate the size of the challenges that lie ahead. These are the first days. We do not expect an early or immediate breakthrough, as we fully expect these discussions to be difficult," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Monday.
Price added that the easing of sanctions on Iran will be discussed at the Vienna meeting, explaining that the special envoy on Iran, Rob Mali, will lead his country's delegation to Vienna.
"We do not expect to hold direct talks with Iran, but we are open to that," the State Department spokesman said.
Price indicated that Washington does not want to set a time frame for reaching an agreement with Iran, and that it is coordinating closely with its European allies.
The Vienna meeting, in which the signatories to the nuclear deal, including the United States, will participate, will discuss the issue of Washington's return to the agreement, and Tehran's retreat from steps to reduce its commitment under the agreement and lift sanctions.
The US envoy, Rob Malle, had said that an agreement could be reached with Iran before next June, indicating that the possibility of achieving this would diminish with the passage of days.
Agreement or war
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times quoted Pentagon officials as saying that their country should speed up reaching an agreement with Iran, because the situation cannot be delayed.
And US officials added that without an agreement, the alternative would be Iran approaching a nuclear bomb or war, according to the newspaper.
Iran's position
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Tehran will present during the meeting of the nuclear agreement committee in Vienna tomorrow a list of all the sanctions that must be lifted.
He added that Iran did not propose to work on the principle of step-by-step - which is what Washington has proposed - but rather wants a complete lifting of all sanctions, again rejecting any direct negotiations with Washington.
On the other hand, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that there would be no direct contacts between Washington and Tehran during the Vienna meeting, expressing his country's readiness to help facilitate indirect contacts between the two sides when necessary.